Based on the lotto talent so far, year of the playmaker might be more accurate? Cason Wallace may be the only "traditional" PG prospect in the lotto, and the archetype seem to be less common these days. Instead there are wing sized passers like Amen Thompson and Anthony Black, and combo guards like Nick Smith and Keyonte George. Thompson and Black look like pass first players that could slot in nicely in a position-less sense. Smith and George are scorers, but I think George has much better vision and shows some balance in looking for his shot vs setting up teammates. He's been drawing Damian Lillard comparisons.
Keyonte George reminds me of a Jamal Murray style PG. I don't think he's explosive enough to be Lillard, but he's smooth with a quick trigger. I love Wallace on defense. He's not a blank slate on O but he's definitely got a ways to go, both as a scorer/creator. But he has All-Defense potential and is 6'4", which would be super interesting next to Jalen. But I wouldn't pick him until late-lotto, and unless we trade into that range, that's not gonna happen. I really don't want Nick Smith Jr. or Amen Thompson. NSJ's best case scenario looks like 90% of Jordan Poole to me, but that's if everything goes right -- he looks more like James Bouknight in the pros so far, though I know he's recovering from injury. I just don't think his talent matches his "go-to guy" mentality. Amen Thompson is unquestionably talented as an athlete, on-ball defender and ball-handler/creator. But the OTE's competition level is so low, and he's so far from being a passable shooter that I can't see him not being a liability in that sense. And he's an on-ball creator, so taking the ball out of Jalen's hands to put into Amen's, who can't shoot, doesn't seem like a good idea, especially with the results of the current KPJ experiment (who's obv much more capable as a shooter).
Baba Miller will return from suspension after the next 3 games. 6'11positionless dude who will eventually be able to defend 1-5 after he puts on weight. Elite 3 ball. Shot close to 50% from 3 in his last euro tournament. Would need too trade up. I was hoping Grady Dick would slip but he may go late lottery. We need a consistent, efficient shooter on this team, who can also defend the perimeter. I'm hoping for a player like this with our second 1st this year. Perimeter defense at 2:28 3 point shooting at 9:12 mark
His offense is definitely not flashy or creative, but there is a simple efficiency to it. His latest game kinda encapsulates that. Granted it's against Florida A&M: Off the dribble threes to punish defenders going under screens. Catch and shoot threes. Good touch on floaters and layups. The creation isn't super impressive here..not necessarily generating tons of advantage, but he capitalizes on the defense's mistakes. Somehow ends up with 9 assists. A menace on defense as always. Agreed he feels like a safe late lotto pick. Definitely other guys with more potential to gamble on, but I wouldn't be surprised if his career ends up Top 5 of his class when its all said and done.
Yup I'd agree with pretty much all of that -- he knows his strengths and doesn't try to be anything he's not. My biggest concern is his FT% (54.5%), which points towards his hot 3-point shooting (currently at 50%) being far from what that number might suggest. But he seems to have a good head on his shoulders, with intensity/instincts on D you can't teach...his offensive polish is just behind where you'd expect a Lottery Guard in 2022 to be. I'd love to draft him to develop next to Harden 7-8 years ago. He'd fit with Jalen, Bari, Tari and company, but we'd still be lacking in the playmaking department. But I expect all those guys to improve, plus Tyty to be helpful there as well.
I have little to no faith in Stone. But he’s been decent in the draft, so I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt here. But I’m REALLY hoping we consolidate this upcoming draft to move up into the 8-14 range, similar to what Detroit did this past draft. We need to walk away with one of Scoot/Amen and one of GG Jackson/ Jarace Walker/ Dillon Mitchell.
Love this kid's upside, I had him in the late-lotto to begin the year, but I have no idea how well his game is going to translate to CBB. Plus FSU is really struggling this year, which could be bad for his development but good for opportunities. FSU has put out Jonathan Isaac, Patrick Williams and Scottie Barnes as 1-and-done Fs in recent years, so it seems like a good spot. He's in a unique spot where he could rise quite a bit, or slip like you said. He'd be a huge steal, talent-wise (at least at this juncture) if that happens. I've seen some mocks have him in the Top-10, others have him in the late-1st/early-2nd. But even if he doesn't come out with a bang, you gotta take a chance on a 6'10"/6'11" guy can handle, move and shoot like him. -- This might be a hot take, but there's a lot of uncertainty after the Top-3 in this class. I know it's been branded by some as a "generational" draft, but a lot of the guys after Wemby/Scoot have been either promising but inconsistent, a mixed bag, a disappointment (some due to injuries), or TBD for various reasons. There's still a lot of talent available, but it's hard to separate #5-6 all the way down to #20 on my board. PG Anthony Black: Probably my favorite of the group, but one game he'll be aggressive and look like a Top-5 guy, while the next he's content with being a role-player. PG/SG Keyonte George: Smooth scoring-G but hasn't been efficient/consistent enough to offset avg physical tools. PF GG Jackson: Young prospect with lots of offensive tools, but has been inconsistent and his reported short wingspan might be concerning PF Jarace Walker: A physical beast who's going to be an asset on D, but has looked raw at times on O and not as dominant on D as you'd hope. SF Brandon Miller: Long with a great stroke, but struggles scoring in the paint and is older than other Frosh, later in his development curve? PG Cason Wallace: Defensive maestro but early in his offensive development, FT-shooting is concerning for a G. SF Jett Howard: Smooth wing with size/stroke, but falling for that combo doesn't always pan out when you have lots of developing still to do. PG Amen Thompson: Physical freak with highlights to boot, but is playing in a glorified HS-pickup league. Jumper still non-existent. SG Dariq Whitehead: Looked excellent in HS, but has been the opposite coming back from injury so far. Will surely get better, but hasn't even looked close to what we expected him to be. SG/SF Gradey Dick: Excellent shooter with some size and other tools, but how high do you take a guy whose best case scenario is a less-lethal Klay? PF Baba Miller: Complete unknown with size/skill. We'll see how he does. SG/SF Ausar Thompson: Better shooter than his brother, but that's not saying much (also worse as a creator). Competition level hurts his evaluations too. SG/SF Nikola Djurisic: Liked his shooting/handling ability a lot, but he hasn't shot very well so far this season overseas. PF Taylor Hendricks: Newcomer on boards has nice 2-way upside from the 4-spot, but isn't playing great competition. SG/PG Nick Smith Jr.: Not sold on him, like I said above, but if I've given Whitehead a pass for not looking like himself coming back from injury, it's only fair I do the same for NSJ.
Started out the season thinking Jarace Walker as another combo forward to team up with Smith and Eason but have come around to Black as a guy Id love to see as a point forward a la Josh Giddey. If his length and athleticism allowed him to play the 3 then he is probably my guy. Not sure the shot is solid enough for him to be the full time PG. I am still on Adem Bona as Sengun's primary backup at the 5. Just think he'd be very nice as a shot blocker and rim runner with the second unit.
Haven't had a chance to look at everyone yet, but here are the guys I like so far for the Rockets. - Wemby - Scoot - Amen T. - Miller - Whitmore - Wallace - Black I've been focusing on PGs and SFs, since those are biggest areas of upside.
Agreed on Black's fit here. His game is a bit like mixing Giddey + Dyson Daniels, but I like his offensive upside the most of the 3. I do see Giddey as a PG, but OKC plays pretty positionless from 1-3, with SGA, Giddey, Jalen Williams and Dort all moving around on O/D. I think Black's prone to fitting what his team needs, which can be good or bad. He takes a backseat when Nick Smith/Ricky Council are in attack-mode, even though he's just as (or more) capable of putting pressure on defenses. But when they need him, he can put the team on his back. His shooting isn't great but he's capable (36% from 3, 71% from FT), and has been steadily improving in the past few years. But that sounds like a perfect fit with Jalen, especially when you consider his defensive versatility at 6'7" 200+ from the 1. After Wemby and Scoot, I'd go Whitmore and then Black. I still see Whitmore as a future star, even though we have our fair share of 3s and 4s on the roster. Nova hasn't given him the keys coming back from injury but you can see the upside when he plays.
A random string of events that is fun to think about. Sign FA van Fleet PG trade for Mikal Bridges SF trade up for Cason Wallace PG 2023-24 lineup PG - Fred van Fleet, Cason Wallace, TyTy Washington SG - Jalen Green, Josh Christopher SF - Mikal Bridges, K Mart, Tate PF - Jabari Smith Jr, Tari Eason C - Victor W, Bruno Trade Sengun, KPJ, Usman 1st round pick for Bridges. This enables the Suns to move on from Ayton Trading up from the Bucks pick to pick Wallace using Nets assets.
My pick for top 3 below, honestly you can even talk me into taking him 2nd. Just look at Jabari Smith, Ben Mathurin, Trey Murphy III. And elite 3nD is his floor, dude has shown lots of flashes that he can do much more.
I like it except would want to keep Sengun to lead the bench and step in when VW inevitably misses some games. Also prefer Usman to Bruno….
Don't know if he's the best fit on our current roster with all the Wings/Forwards, but Brice Sensabaugh from Ohio State is super underrated, and I bumped him into the Top-10 mix now. He's a 6'6" 230 Freshman who was a 4-star recruit, but is putting up 16/5 in less than 22mpg a game, on crazy efficiency (53% FG, 47% 3FG, 79% FT, 64% TS). He has a picturesque J, big frame, and the ability to score from all 3-levels with a solid handle and great decision-making for a Frosh. But if we make some moves, having a multi-positional guy who's a knock-down shooter makes sense, since any team can use a guy like that.
